This publication addresses inspection basics, concepts and methods for planning inspection activities, performing inspections of safety related structures, systems and components, evaluating the safety significance of inspection findings, and documenting the results. It presents high level considerations for the inspection of selected programmatic areas including plant operations, radiation protection, fire protection and maintenance activities at nuclear power plants (NPPs). The publication focuses on the regulatory inspection of operating NPPs and, where applicable, describes how the same inspection techniques can be applied to facilities undergoing construction, preoperational testing and decommissioning. The general techniques described may also be used in the inspection of other types of nuclear facility.

This publication presents a comprehensive summary of the technical work carried out under an IAEA coordinated research project and provides an overview of Member States' approaches to mitigating challenges that are encountered in achieving reliability, sustainability and safety with advanced pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) fuels. These challenges, which were discussed and analysed by the project participants, include fuel performance degradation, insufficient availability of operating experience at high burnup and margin erosion by ageing.

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulation System (NFCSS) is a scenario based computer simulation tool that can model various nuclear fuel cycle options in various types of nuclear reactor. It is efficient and accurate in identifying, for example, the nuclear mineral resources and technical infrastructure needed for the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle; the amounts of used fuel, actinide nuclides and high level waste generated for a given reactor fleet size; and the impact of introducing recycling of used fuel on mineral resource savings and waste minimization. Since the first publication on the NFCSS as IAEA-TECDOC-1535 in 2007, there have been significant improvements in the implementation of the NFCSS, including a new extension to thorium fuel cycles, methods to calculate decay heat and radiotoxicity, and demonstration applications to innovative reactors.

This publication provides information on monitoring and tracking carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or emissions from soil and plant materials using a laser carbon dioxide carbon isotope analyser. Through illustrated step-by-step standard operating procedures, this publication assists scientists, technicians and students in techniques ranging from initial calibration of the instrument to collecting measurements and analysing data. When accurately utilized, this instrumentation can ensure proper evaluation of agricultural management practices to reduce soil carbon dioxide emissions and promote climate-smart agriculture. The final chapter of this publication also presents a case study that demonstrates how this instrumentation can be used.

This publication provides a comprehensive overview of the technologies involved in the direct production of gallium-68. It serves as a specific guide for the production and quality control of metal radioisotope gallium-68 in chloride form for radiopharmaceutical production. Emphasis is given to the advances developed over the past few years. The publication, which also describes the legal matters related to the use of the targetry methods, will appeal to scientists and technologists intending to put cyclotron based radioisotope production into practice, as well as postgraduate students in the field.

This publication focuses on the storage of spent nuclear fuel from power reactors, which is a topic of increasing importance to Member States. To support their needs, the IAEA has carried out successive coordinated research projects on spent fuel performance and the behaviour of spent fuel assemblies in storage since the 1980s. The findings of these projects have been reported in a series of publications over the past 30 years. The current publication consolidates these findings and compiles all relevant information in one referenceable source. The technical information provided in this publication will be particularly useful for experts engaged in safety assessments.

The IAEA has introduced a methodology and an assessment tool – Systematic Assessment of Regulatory Competence Needs (SARCoN) – which provides practical guidance on analysing the training and development needs of a regulatory body and, through a gap analysis, guidance on establishing competence needs and how to meet them. The current publication provides information on the use of the SARCoN methodology to support the implementation of the IAEA safety standards for ensuring regulatory competence in respect of radiation facilities and activities. It is to be used in conjunction with IAEA Safety Reports Series No. 79. It can also be used in conjunction with IAEA TECDOC-1757 by regulatory bodies regulating both radiation and nuclear facilities.

This publication summarizes the results from a joint FAO/IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) and provides an integrated and crop-need-based nutrient and water management plan for growing various crops in the moist and dry savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa. The CRP participants investigated the effects of soil management and agronomic practices in mulch-based farming systems. Impacts on soil fertility, ecosystem service efficiency, and agricultural productivity were assessed. Climate change and variability in cropping or integrated crop and livestock systems were considered. The publication provides relevant information on how to improve soil fertility and soil health by applying nuclear techniques and the principles of conservation agriculture. By using these improved crop management methods, farmers can enhance soil resilience, optimize crop yields and minimize production costs.

This publication provides an overview of aspects of the uranium production cycle including evaluating the global uranium supply/demand situation. It presents insights on techniques for analysis of undiscovered resources for mineral commodities, which has formed part of a robust statistical procedure in the last 20 years, but has never been systematically applied to uranium. For this publication, experts have carried out case studies on speculative or undiscovered uranium resource potential, systematically applying spatial assessment techniques often with non-spatial quantitative techniques. This publication is the result of the work contributed by those experts over the period 2014–2016 and provides the tools for Member States to investigate and evaluate undiscovered uranium resources and deposits.

This publication documents the results achieved by participants of an IAEA coordinated research project (CRP) related to hydrogen production using nuclear energy. The IAEA, which previously developed the Hydrogen Economic Evaluation Programme (HEEP), which supports the analysis of various options for future hydrogen economies. HEEP is the first of its kind software and has been distributed freely to IAEA Member States. The CRP participants performed a generic benchmark analysis for various scenarios of hydrogen production and against other codes built on different platforms and models. The research report highlights various aspects of nuclear hydrogen production based not only on national but also international trends. It considers important technical aspects of coupling nuclear reactors to hydrogen plants and the challenges for nuclear hydrogen production compared with steam or solar energy produced hydrogen. Major accomplishments achieved by Member States are presented in the summary section of this report. A detailed description of the activities and outcomes through the implementation of the CRP can be found in the individual country reports available on the CD-ROM attached to this publication.

This publication provides a description of existing and emerging technologies to effectively integrate geological, geophysical and geochemical data to recognize the footprint (i.e. the total extent that the mineralizing system has affected its environment) of the deposit and the key vectors to the uranium mineralization. In addition, insights into exploration strategies and risks associated with country and basin selection are discussed, including the role of the IAEA and academia in supporting the exploration process. Representing an unprecedented, comprehensive reference document on unconformity-related uranium deposits with over 350 citations, this publication will be useful for decision makers at all levels, including governmental officers in energy and mineral resources, exploration companies, geologists, geological surveys, energy companies, universities and research institutions, and natural resource authorities.

This TECDOC is the first IAEA publication on safety classification of components for fusion applications. It highlights the existing differences between fission and fusion reactors in identification and classification of structures, systems and components that are important to safety and offers practical information on fusion applications. The publication also provides information on inclusion of the new design extension conditions, which have been added after the review of IAEA Safety Guides following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.